Take Control

The face of Cam Gigandet's iPhone looks like a windshield that took a bullet, with a spiderweb of cracks spreading from an impact point. He dropped the phone while riding his bike in L.A., but it still works, and that sums up a big part of the 26-year-old's character. "I love pain," he says, smirking, more than half-seriously. "Love pain."

Last summer, water-skiing with his family in Washington State, Gigandet slammed into a buoy. It hurt like hell, but "I continued skiing just so my parents wouldn't freak out." He drove nearly 18 hours back to L.A. before having his leg checked out. Turns out he had a cracked fibula.

Gigandet has the play-with-pain trait to thank for much of his success, which is cooking now after a stint on The O.C., the badass role in Never Back Down, and now his turn as the vampire James in Twilight, based on Stephenie Meyer's runaway hit novel.

But it all began elsewhere, on the football field in high school, where he did something a senior quarterback just doesn't do: He quit. "I just realized, I don't really love it. So right before the first game, I just walked off. And that helped. I was like, 'Failure isn't going to do the damage that I thought. It's going to be fine. I'm moving forward.'"

Dad was disappointed; Gigandet and the coach haven't spoken since. But Gigandet realized that any real happiness had to come from within. "The future doesn't matter if I don't enjoy what's going on right now. So I'm just loving what I do and trying to love what happens. So far it's been good." You can make it good for yourself, too.

Let fitness drive everything

"I played sports growing up and I just love exercise, so having those fundamentals makes everything else easier," he says. "If I were just learning everything now or still having to focus on getting my body the way I want it, I wouldn't be where I am. If you don't have the base, you can't really go beyond it. Then you just end up being good, when you could be something better."

Jettison your backup plan

Gigandet thinks it waters down your fuel. Whatever you want to do, do. "When I started," he says, "everyone would say, 'You should have a backup plan, you should have this or that.' And I wouldn't even think of it. I was like, 'That just ends up becoming my self-fulfilling prophecy. I won't last very long.'"

Accept fear as your roommate

You're not an actor, but you have auditions: for jobs, for dates, for acceptance. "You're selling a product that happens to be yourself," Gigandet says.

"That brings out so many insecurities. There's so much fear of failure because it's so rampant, it's everywhere. It was paralyzing to the point where I couldn't get work or enjoy anything. To get where I am, I had to learn to live with fear. It's all fear. You have to let go of that and keep moving forward."

Work like hell

The crappy times will show what you're made of. "Well, you can always do what the O.C. kids did and hate your work," says Gigandet. "When I was on that show, they all just wanted to go on and do bigger things. I imagine that's hard. You can be as frustrated as you want, but you still have to show up for work. People don't want to hear about it if you're frustrated with your big career break. You still have to have a sense of gratitude and professionalism no matter what you do. I've been mad at everyone and everything at times. Deal with it at home."

Finally, lose your job

When Gigandet was breaking into the business, he snagged a role in--of all things! -- The Young and the Restless. His run was short; his contract wasn't renewed. "So much relies on your confidence," he says. "To be let go from a soap opera is the most embarrassing confidence basher in the world. It's like, 'Oh, if I'm not good enough for that, I'm not good enough for anything.' So that was tough. But you learn that none of that stuff matters. You keep pushing forward."

Go on to the next page for tips on putting the fun back in fitness...

Put Fun Back in Fitness

How Cam Gigandet maintains a Hollywood physique without blowing the whole day

Find your sweat spot You can work out almost anywhere, but make sure you can focus. Gigandet used to go to the Sports Club/LA, but it was too busy. So he joined a no-name gym. "At busy times, 10 people are there. It has everything I need," he says.

Master something You'll become better, not just bigger. Gigandet is trying to master the clean and jerk. "That's hard. But it's something that you can do for a really long time and still not master it. It's a skill workout. I do it real light right now."

Keep the change Gigandet does weights, kettlebells, and cardio machines, but also krav maga (an Israeli martial art), water-skiing, hiking -- anything, really. "Every 2 weeks, I mix it up," he says. "It's best when I go outside and play a sport."

Bike everywhere If he can do it in L.A., you can do it anywhere. It's green, fun, and keeps you fit. "I fell in love with riding," he says. "Yesterday I probably put 40 miles on my bike. And I've only just realized how many hills there are in L.A."

Get fit, stay fit Gigandet has worked to stay fit since his teens, except for a 3-month break after filming Never Back Down. Having that basic fitness level is empowering, he says. "It's not that hard to take myself one step beyond that base level."

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